Livingstone for Peace
April 16, 2008
‘He has consistently and loudly opposed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,’ writes Tariq Ali. ‘For that reason, Ken has my vote’.
Given the way that politics has gone to the dogs in so many parts of the democratic world, its hardly surprising that celebrity status and wealth have taken centre stage. Whether political atomisation is a transient phase remains to be seen. Meanwhile it is worth remembering that this country is involved in two wars and occupations.
The leaders of both the mainstream parties in Britain continue to support involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. And apart from the valiant but small group of antiwar campaigners, the country seems to have forgotten that a million Iraqis have died since the occupation of their country, three million have become refugees and millions in the country face the most horrendous conditions in their everyday lives. If a country considered hostile to the west had behaved in this fashion, the outcry would have been deafening.
The war crimes committed by the west are usually forgotten by the perpetrators and, alas, the citizens of the west, but not by the victimised populations of the occupied countries. That is why the war, regardless of the limited media coverage, remains a central issue. During the last general elections I voted for my local Liberal Democrat candidate who was antiwar and against the pro-war New Labour candidate. Our side won and I have no regrets.
In London the choice for me is very clear. A Tory celeb who carefully cultivates an ultra-reactionary image, a somewhat pathetic and ineffectual Lib Dem candidate (had they chosen someone like Vince Cable the level of debate would have been raised instead of the temperature) or Ken Livingstone, who has been consistently opposed to the war. The Greens and Respect are also good choices as long as their second preferences go to Livingstone.
That Livingstone has made mistakes is obvious. For me, the biggest error was not in receiving an eccentric Muslim cleric, but re-entering the Labour fold. However, this is an old weakness of his and we’ve been arguing since the 1960s. What is important is that he is not a confected New Labour politician. That is the basis of his popularity. Were he to lose, it would be because New Labour gets more unpopular by the day. Had he stayed out he would have been home and dry. I could list other errors, but most of these are irrelevant.
Whether or not one likes the post of mayor (and I don’t) the fact is it exists. According to a Ipsos Mori poll conducted from April 1-7, 55% of 18-35s support Livingstone compared to 29% for the TV Tory. Will the young come out and vote? A majority of this age group abstained in the last two general elections and many will, alas, stay at home.
It would be bizarre if a city in which 70% of the citizens opposed the war, ended up being represented by a pro-war mayor. This could well happen and it wouldn’t be very funny. If the war matters then one should not fall prey to subjective likes and dislikes, but vote for Livingstone on May 1.
April 16, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Livingstone’s mayoralty has gone on interminably.It is high time his time in office came to an end.
No doubt he has allies still among establishment lefties like Ali but “Red Ken” is now a tool of business and security elites.
Good riddance to bad rubbish!
Livingstone’s a ponce!
April 17, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Reading Tariq Ali’s piece above we might well ask whither the Trotskyite left now?
With Tariq Ali now backing the Lib Dems,and citing Vince Cable as a politician capable of raising the level of debate he seems to have finally relinquished his left credentials(not to mention his marbles too)altogether.
Is this the same Cable who electrified the House and the corporate media with the quip about how Brown had transformed himself from Stalin into Mr Bean?
Surely,the Commons at Question Time already resembled a Carry On rehearsal without such a lightweight intervention as that one.If Ali thinks that’s raising the level of debate then his asinine support for Livingstone is on a par for the addle-headedness to which he has evidently succumbed.
Firstly,who remembers Livingstone making the war in Iraq a campaign issue over the last few months?He seems to have forgotten all about it!
Lest we forget,Livingstone has colluded with the political and security elites who foisted the War on Terror upon us in the first place every step of the way.
The failure to call for the police and security services to account for the numerous anomalies in the official account they gave for the 7/7 atrocities was a gross dereliction of the Mayor’s responsibility for the safety of Londoners.
It was also a sure sign sign of the Mayor’s willingness to abet the shadow government that would use such forms of synthetic terror to forward their agenda of coercing the public through fear into accepting democratic deficit at home and permanent war abroad.
Likewise Menezez’s slaughter on the Tube and the conduct of the MPS Commissioner and his assistant and the stream of disinformation they spewed so copiously in its aftermath drew not one word of reproach from Livingstone.
Anyone remember the Mayor sticking up for Brian Haw and the right to protest the war in close proximity to the very corridors of power from whence the carnage was launched?
Funny we must have missed that too!
With his much trumpeted but wholly phoney wars on congestion,crime,and Terror-Livingstone has abetted the curtailment of civil liberties in London to such an extent that when the Olympics come to London in 2012 and every motorist,protester and pedestrian has been corralled through his avenues of security cameras,wheel-clampers,his army of corporate enforcers and heavily armed policemen the London street signs will surely say:
Arbeit Macht Frei!
Yes,the man whose career trajectory with its history of craven security state sound-bites and corporate authoritarianism,bears uncanny resemblances to that of Rudolph Giuliani,will bequeath this legacy to Londoners or others like Ali people stupid enough to vote for him.
London in 2012 will resemble Berlin in 1936.
If Livingstone is a man of peace then let him make the war in Iraq an issue.
As Ali must know-it ain’t gonna happen!